Chapter 51 Gambling on the fortunes of the country

Zomoto, Tokyo

"The Qing Kingdom has sent troops! What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Mr. Prime Minister, don't hesitate any longer! ”

Saigo from the road to Ito Hirobumi side to cheer him up.

At this time, Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito has always remained silent.

At this time, many ministers of the army and navy of the Ministry of Justice, such as Yama Prefecture Aritomo and Oyama Iwa, asked Ito Hirobumi and the emperor to send troops into Korea, but Ito Hirobumi was still a little hesitant at this time.

Challenge Qingguo! Does Ben have the strength at this moment? War with such a behemoth?

Although the Qing State is weak, after all, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and the Westernization movement that the Qing people are also engaged in seems to be quite impressive.

Standing up under the gaze of several colleagues around him, Ito walked over to the huge map of East Asia hanging on the wall of the office and thought quietly.

Such a war is gambling!

The Qing State can lose ten times, but it is said that Ben is not even qualified to lose the last time, and losing the last time means the complete collapse of the country.

Do you really want to gamble on the fortunes of the country in one fell swoop?

Saigo Congdao looked at the prime minister who was still hesitating in front of him, knowing that he had to push it again at this time, and he already had an idea in his heart, "It doesn't matter if the parliament hasn't agreed yet, we can use the excessive number of troops sent by the Qing country as an excuse to send a little more troops over, and there is no need to mobilize the main force of the army." ”

While saying that, Saigo Congdao gave Nogi Noshinori of the War Department on his side a look.

Nogi Noshinori understood and persuaded softly, "Yes, Prime Minister. I think it would be better to send a division to symbolize the surname first, so that it can also seal the mouths of everyone. ”

"You said it, a division? Is that still called a symbolic surname? Hirobumi Ito looked at Noshinori with a smile.

Saigo hurriedly said, "One division is too much, so let's send another mixed wing." ”

Ito Hirobumi thought about it for a while and finally agreed to Saigo's request......

Hirobumi Ito didn't know that he was still a big pawn in the War Department, and the weight of the two words that he inadvertently ignored was really not light.

In the army, the mixed wing is not subordinate to any higher-level establishment, but is an elite unit temporarily organized by the War Department according to operational needs and directly responsible to the commander-in-chief.

Ito Hirobumi didn't know that one of the wings in his ears had accidentally multiplied several times.

This kind of military deception and concealment is unimaginable in other countries, but it really happened in this book.

On May 23, 1894, the army turned a blind eye to the turmoil in southern Korea, and under the cover of the combined fleet, directly and arrogantly transported a large number of infantry to complete the landing at Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, central Korea.

Yuan Shikai, who was stationed in Seoul, Korea, was shocked when he heard the news, and immediately sent the message back to China by telegram.

The Qing State immediately sent an additional force of 1,000 people to Korea, and the troops were still commanded by Ye Zhichao and Nie Shicheng, who had entered the dynasty earlier.

What they didn't know was that the army had sent a mixed wing with a total number of 3,520 soldiers, which was equivalent to the number of a brigade in the original army.

At this time, Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi finally understood that he was being swept away by Saigo, but it was too late to say anything at this time, and as the prime minister, he could only help the army continue to play this drama at this time......

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In the early morning of May 25, 1894, all newspapers such as the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun published a piece of news with an eye-catching headline: "Korean Incident!" "China sends troops to North Korea! Every sleepy-eyed person was outraged by the news, and they shouted and roared into the streets, and the energy that had been suppressed in their hearts for 10 years rushed out like a volcanic eruption.

Akamoto, Tokyo Diet Building

"Sending troops to North Korea!!"

"War on the Qing Kingdom!! ――”

"Defend the lifeline of the empire Korea!! ―”

"Great." Seeing that all the members of the Diet in front of him were still in the dark, Ito's originally worried face began to become calm, "The situation is in our favor, and now it's up to us." ”

Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, "Yes, it's rare for these guys to agree with the political axe. ”

Hirobumi Ito said lightly, "Since the Diet has agreed, let's do a good job!" ”

"That's good! I'll inform the General Staff right away," Saigo then said, "Let the Army have two more divisions!" Immediately go to North Korea and expand the situation! ”

……

“…… Below is the specific battle plan developed by the General Staff. ”

Saigo explained the plan and plan of the military headquarters to Emperor Muhito and a group of ministers.

"On the orders of the base camp, Major General Yoshimasa Oshima led by Major General Oshima of the Army to lead the way to Korea with more than 8,000 troops of about one division has conquered Incheon. Everyone, please see here, after the outbreak of war, the Imperial Battle Plan will be divided into three implementation steps. ”

Minister of War Saigo led everyone to the map and explained with a baton in hand.

"In the first stage, the army and navy coordinated the attack, and the army sent three to four divisions to defeat the Qing army in Korea and induce the Qing to reinforce Seoul from the water......"

“… The Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy sought an opportunity to annihilate the main force of the Beiyang Fleet and grasp the sea supremacy in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. ”

"The second stage, occupy Liaodong on both sides of the Bohai Bay, Shandong Peninsula ......"

"In the final stage, we will land from Bohai Bay and go straight to the heart of the Qing Dynasty!! Conquer Yenching !! ――”

"Good! With me as the supreme commander, the whole country began to issue wartime mobilization orders!! The success or failure of the empire is !! in one fell swoop ――”

"Hay! - "Hay! ――”

"Hay! - "Hay! ――”

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